Rotogravure ink fountain with cover-lifting system

ABSTRACT

An ink fountain for a rotogravure press which is pivotally mounted and can be tilted down away from the printing cylinder for cleaning the fountain pan or changing the cylinder. A cover system for enclosing the cylinder when the pan is in its operative position and which will automatically cam off or lift away from the cylinder as the pan is lowered away from it. The cover system is hinged to the pan and can be swung away from the pan so as to uncover the pan and cylinder for easy cleaning and replacement.

Unit States Patent Inventors Richard Woessner Fnirlawn;

Jack Bryer, Paramus; Christopher Pali, Ramsey, all of, NJ.; AlexanderBenda, Bronx, N.Y.

May 20, 1968 June 29, 1971 Wood Industries, Inc.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee ROTOGRAVURE INK FOUNTAIN WITH COVER-LIFTING SYSTEM 9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

11.8. C1 101/363 Int. 114111/46 FieldofSearch 101/157,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,550,454 4/1951 Crafts eta1. 101/157 2,519,229 8/1950 Crafts 101/350 2,655,102 10/1953 Ross....101/364 X 3,009,417 11/1961 Saul 101/364 X 3,052,183 9/1962 Zemov....101/364 X 3,155,037 11/1964 Haskin 101/364 3,267,849 8/1966 Berry101/364 X Primary Examiner-William B. Penn Assistant ExaminerE. M. CovenAttorney-Fannie, Edmonds, Morton, Taylor & Adams ABSTRACT: An inkfountain for a rotogravure press which is pivotally mounted and can betilted down away from the printingcylinder for cleaning the fountain panor changing the cylinder. A cover system for enclosing the cylinder whenthe pan is in its operative position and which will automatically camoff or lift away from the cylinder as the pan is lowered away from it.The cover system is hinged to the pan and can be swung away from the panso as to uncover the pan and cylinder for easy cleaning and replacement.

PATENTEUJUNPSBTI 34589287 sum 1 or 5 FIG.

PATENIED JUN2 919?:

SHEET 2 BF 5 PATENTED JUN29 Ian SHEET 5 OF 5 ROTOGRAVURE INIK FOUNTAINWITH COVER- LIFTING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates generally to rotogravure or rotary intaglio printing presses andmore particularly to the inking system of such a press.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an inkfountain and cover system which is so constructed so as to reduce themakeready time required for beginning a run and to minimize the skillsrequired during the makeready and maintenance operations of the inkfountain system.

When completing a run of the press or beginning a new run it is usuallynecessary to remove the ink from the fountain pan and to replace it withfresh ink. Obviously, it is also necessary to remove the ink from thepan when changing colors or replacing the printing cylinder. In order toaccomplish these changes it has heretofore been necessary for anexperienced mechanic with appropriate tools to remove side baffles,cover plates, bearing clamps and other such associated parts in order toscoop out and scrape or pump out or otherwise remove the remaining inkfrom the stationary fountain pan. The removal of these separate parts istime consuming, difficult because of sometimes large and heavy partswhich have to be disassembled, not lost and later replaced and requirescertain minimum skills of the mechanic.

An improvement to the tedious task of removing ink from the fountain panhas been accomplished through the use of tiltable fountain pans as shownfor example in US. Pat. Nos. 2,519,229 and 2,550,454. The time-consumingand difficult task of having to remove the side baffles and cover platesso that the printing cylinder can be removed or replaced or so that thepan can be lowered to drain off the ink still remains a problem. As aresult of this tedious job requiring removal of all these parts, attimes ink is left in the fountain pans rather than draining the inkafter the previous run. This usually results in the ink becomingcontaminated and crusty thereby making the task even more difficult byrequiring the pan to be scraped.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inkfountain and cover'lifting system for use on rotogravure printingpresses having a construction which will overcome the above-mentionedproblems thereby making the removal of ink from the fountain pan arelatively simple task.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink fountainwherein the fountain cover, caps and seals will automatically lift awayfrom the fountain roller or cylinder as the fountain pan is lowered ortilted down away from the cylinder.

A further object of this invention is to provide an ink fountain withautomatic cover-lifting system as the pan is lowered in which the panand cover are adjustable to accept a variety of printing cylinderdiameters.

Another object of the present invention is to allow for the removal andreplacement of the printing cylinder without requiring the removal ofany fountain parts and only necessitating a lowering of the fountain panand lifting of the fountain covers.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ink fountain whereinthe panels and ducts are so designed that all ink automatically runs offto the drain system when the pan is lowered.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial top view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along lines 2-2 ofFlG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. ll;

FIG. 4 is an end view as seen from the left of FIG. I;

FIG. 5 is also an end view of the present invention showing the pan andcover in its closed position encircling a printing cylinder, and withmeans for lowering the pan and lifting the cover;

FIG. 6 is a similar end view showing the present invention in itslowered position exposing the printing cylinder with the pan in itsfully lowered position;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of one end of the pan;

FIG. 8 is a section of the backer cover showing the relative position ofa doctor blade mechanism; and

FIG. 9 is a detail view of one portion of the cover system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the particular embodimentof the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawingsthere is shown an ink fountain pan 1] supported by support meanscomprising an arm 12 which is pivotally supported on rod 13. At fourpoints along the bottom of pan 11 there is located a pair of supportblocks 14. These blocks are supported on arm 12 by threaded bolts I5which are adjustable so that the distance between the pan II and arm 12can be varied so that the depth of immersion of a design cylinder in thepan is also variable simply by adjusting the height of the pan.

The means for lowering the pan is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 as a pneumaticcylinder 16 having its piston rod I7 connected to one end of a lever arm18 which is pivotally mounted at 19. The other end of lever arm 18 isconnected to hinge 21 which in turn is joined to bracket 22 which issecured to arm 12. When the cylinder 16 is actuated by a signal, pistonrod 17 will be extended causing lever arm 18 to rotate in acounterclockwise direction about pivot point. 19 thereby pivoting arm 12downwardly about pivot bar 13 and consequently the pan 11 along with it.

Using a pneumatic cylinder for lowering the pan is only one of manyalternatives and it is therefore not here intended to limit the loweringmeans to the mechanism shown and described herein. For example,electrical means such as a motor can be used in place of the pneumaticcylinder, and in fact the pan can be lowered manually.

Turning now to the construction of the pan itself, FIG. 3 shows amidsection of the pan generally referred to as numeral 11 having abottom 23, a front wall 24 and a backwall 25. These walls are made ofsheet metal and due to the length of the pan, approximately 120 inches,reinforcement of corru gated sheets 26 are required for extra strength.Built into the backwall 25 is an ink manifold 27 for supplying ink intothe pan. The ink is supplied from a mixing tank, not shown, by means ofconnection 28. The manifold 27 is provided with a slit 29 on its bottomside from which the ink is fed into the pan. The bottom of the tankslopes upwardly to an overflow point 30 and into a drain trough 31 fromwhence it is returned to the mixing tank via drain 32.

The connection 28 to the manifold 27 extends from a point where it isheld in place by bracket 67 which depends from arm 12 being securedthereto by means of bolts 68 (See FIG. 5). Since the pan will be inmotion this bracket serves to prevent connection 28 from breaking looseor otherwise being damaged. At the end 75 of the connection 28 is aflexible hose, not shown, connected to connection 28 which leads to themixing tank. Another flexible hose, also not shown, is attached to theend 74 of the drain 32 and also leads back to the mixing tank.Consequently it is not necessary to remove connections with the mixingtank when lowering or raising the fountain.

Each end of the pan is closed off by sidewalls extending upwardly fromthe bottom of the pan at the opposite ends of the cylinder. Each ofthese sidewalls is comprised of an inner wall consisting of an innerbaffle 33 and an upper extension held to the baffle 33 by brackets 81and 82. Between this inner wall and an outer wall 34 there is a space orwell 37 for catching any ink drain from the doctor blade or from theguard collar 53 on the shaft 55 of the design cylinder 54. The bottom 35of the well 37 slopes downwardly causing any overflow ink to pass intothe drain trough 31 and drain 32. A bleedoff opening 36 is provided inthe inner baffle 33 for allowing overflow of turbulent ink entering thepan to drain off into the well 37. This opening 36 is located toward therear of baffle 33 so as to be in proximity with the entering flow ofink. The bottom of the well 37 leads into the drain system 31, 32 Thisdrain off provides constant wash through of the well 37 to prevent buildup of caked ink deposits as the drainings from the doctor blade or shaftcollar 53 are meager and do not create a steady flow. While only onesuch bleedoff hole is shown, it is possible that two or three could beprovided if it is found to be necessa- Mounted on the front lip of thepan 11 is a hinge 38 for supporting a fountain cover 39. This cover isprovided with a bandle 40'so that it can be manually pivoted about hinge38 to uncover the pan. This cover has a backwall 69 which forms aprotective shield for hinge 38 when the cover 39 is in place therebyforming a dripproof hinge. lnk splash from the rotation of the designcylinder and ink fumes are consequently prevented from escaping throughthe hinge 38 or contaminating it. A well cover 64 is fitted over thewell 37 and secured in place between the outer wall 34 and inner wall 80by wingnuts 65, passing through slots 66 on outer wall 34 and inner wall80. This cover is adjustable in height by sliding it up or down, guidedin slots 66. As seen more clearly in FIG. 9, this cover is provided witha hinge 41 and has attached thereto a top cap 42 for covering the endsof the cylinder. The cap has a lower and upper part 42a and 42brespectively, the lower part covers the cylinder shaft 55 and shaftcollar 53 while the upper part 4212 covers the end of the cylinder 54.The lower part 42a of the cap is provided with a cam 43. The operationof this cap and well cover will be described more fully in subsequentportions of this description. The cam 43 is preferably a syntheticmaterial substantially unaffected by the solvents used in the printinginks and offers little friction resistance to a metal surface, as theunderside of this cam rides on the metal shaft 55 of the design cylinder54. A second cam element 44 is mounted on the top of cap 42 whichprovides a surface upon which cover 39 will ride when the pan is beinglowered and the cover has not been manually opened. The cover 39 isprovided with a roller 73 for resting and riding on cam 44.

Mounted on a pivot support 45 which is secured between the side frames,adjacent to the pan is a backer cover 46 with a side seal plate 47attached thereto at each end. The backer cover 46 has an abutmentelement 51 attached to it, and element 51 sits on a stop or supportelement 51 which is secured to the machine frame 10. The sectionalviews, FIGS. 2 and 3, reveal that the backer is a casting having anopening 48 extending longitudinally along the length of the backer forreceiving the blade and blade holder of a doctor blade mechanism asshown in FIG. 8. The bottom of opening 48 is provided with a drain 78 sothat any drippings from the doctor blade will be returned to the pan. Asealing blade 49 is attached, by means of bolts 50, to the casting andextends to the doctor blade in a deflected posture for preventing inksplash from escaping the confines of the pan and pan cover. A seconddrain 79 is provided in backer 46 for returning any ink splash from thecylinder to the pan. Also mounted on the backer by means 76 is a backerblade 56 which acts as a primary doctor to wipe large amounts of excessink off the design cylinder surface so that the doctor blade can performits proper function of wiping the cylinder surface clean. This backerblade 56 is biased forward at its front end by means of spring 57 andits back end is prevented from swinging back by stop 58.

The backer 46 is provided with a handle 52 secured to either or bothends of the backer. For this purpose the backer ends have an extendedshoulder 59. By means of handle 52 backer cover 46 and side seal plate47 attached thereto can be pivoted about bar 45 so as to be swung awayfrom the pan and cylinder to expose the upper back portion of thecylinder and the interior of the pan. The doctor blade mechanism must bemoved away from the cylinder, and consequently out of the opening 48before backer cover 46 can be swung away. It is only necessary, however,to swing the backer cover away from the pan if removal of the cylinderis to be accomplished. In situations where it is only desired to lowerthe pan and uncover the cylinder so that ink can be removed or replacedand the pan or cylinder washed, it is not necessary to swing the backercover 46 and side seal plate away. As will be described in more detailin the description of the operation it is only necessary to actuate themechanism for lowering the pan in order to drain the ink and alsouncover the cylinder surface.

The ends of the pan 11 are fitted with an adjustable collar 61 which isheld to the inner wall by means of locking nuts 62 in slots 63. Bysliding collar 61 up or down, an appropriate fit for different-sizecylinder shafts can be achieved so that the side baffle and inner wallproperly performs its function of retaining ink within the pan.

OPERATION In operation, ink enters the pan 11 through opening 29 inmanifold 27 coming from a mixing tank via a flexible hose to connection28. The ink is picked up by the design cylinder traveling in thedirection of the arrow and causes turbulence in the ink flow. Excess inkis wiped from the cylinder by backer blade 56, this excess ink fallingback into the turbulent flow. The action of the doctor blade against thesurface of the cylinder also contributes to the flow of return ink.

The level of ink in the pan is constantly controlled by providing for asteady drain off of ink over point 30 into the drain system 32, back tothe mixing tank. In this manner the pan is constantly being replenishedwith fresh ink.

Excess drippings from the cylinder shaft collar 53 fall into the spacebetween inner wall 33, and outer wall 34. This space is also constantlywashed by overflow of ink through the bleedoff opening 36.

The height of the ink level and consequently the depth of cylinderimmersion into the ink is variable by means of varying the height of thepan itself with respect to the cylinder. By adjusting the bolts 15 theheight of the pan 11 can be changed relative to its supporting arm 12.

When it is desired that the pan be lowered for the purpose of drainingout all the ink or cleaning the pan or for changing the cylinder it isno longer necessary for a mechanic to remove side baffles, cover andcaps in order to expose the pan and then pump out or scoop out the inkfrom the pan or manually tilt the pan so as to spill out the ink. It isonly necessary to actuate the lowering mechanism, the rest is verysimply and almost automatically accomplished.

In the preferred embodiment described herein piston rod 17 is caused tobecome extended by cylinder 16. Lever arm 18 is thereby rotatedcounterclockwise about pivot point 19. The lever 18 being hinged to arm12 pulls the arm downward causing the pan 11 supported thereby to belowered about pivot bar 13.

As the pan is being lowered well cover 64 is being lowered with it andtherefore top cap 42 is being caused to tilt back, riding on its cam 43over the cylinder shaft 55, about the hinge 41. As the cap 42 is tiltingback it is also pushing cover 39 back about its hinge 38 to expose theupper front portion of the cylinder and the interior of the pan. Thecover edge 71, cover bottom 72, and roller 73 ride on cap cam 44 as thecap 42 is itself n'ding back about hinge 41.

When the piston rod 17 has reached its fully extended limit the panbottom 23 will be in a horizontal or slightly downgraded position sothat any ink in the pan or well 37 will spill over into the drain system31, 32 thereby completely emptying the fountain. The cover 39 is pushedback exposing cylinder 54. The ink having been drained, the pan can nowbe raised by operating the lowering mechanism in reverse. The top cap 42will be pushed into its original position and cover 39 will ride forwardon cam 44 until it is also in its closed position.

If it is desirable or necessary to'clean the inside of the pan or thecylinder the cover can be easily opened while the pan is in its loweredposition by means of the handle 40 into the position shown in FIG. 6 byswinging it still further about hinge 38. lf the cover is opened, cap 42will fall back and rest on the well cover 64. The pan and cylinder willnow be almost fully exposed thereby allowing free access for cleaning.The cover can easily be replaced by manually returning the caps intocontact with the cylinder shaft, holding them in place and then liftingthe cover into its closed position, the caps now being held in place bythe cover. The pan can now be raised as described above.

If it is desirable or necessary to remove the cylinder the additionalstep of removing the doctor blade out of opening 48 and pivoting backercover 46 with side seal plate 47 back about pivot support 45 by means ofhandle 52 will be necessa ry. When the pan is thus in its loweredposition with cover 39 in its opened position, caps 42in its swung backposition and backer cover 46 pulled back, as shown in FIG. 6, thecylinder can easily be rolled out and replaced. The backer cover canthen be swung forward, the caps and cover replaced and the pan raised sothat a new run can begin.

With the pan in its lowered and uncovered position (FIG. 6) if it isalso desired to clean the well 37 (space between the inner and outerwalls) well cover 64 will have to be removed. This is easilyaccomplished by loosening wingnuts 65 and lifting the cover 64 out ofits position.

If the cylinder and cylinder shaft have a slightly different diameterthis fountain is easily adjustable. Collar 61 can be adjusted to theproper change, cover 64 can also be adjusted by varying the relativepoints at which wingnuts 65 will be tightened in slots 66 and the heightof the pan itself can be adjusted by bolts to correct for the properdepth of immersion of the new cylinder.

It can be seen that the present invention provides for an ink fountainhaving a construction as described above in which the pan can be loweredand uncovered to remove and replace ink or remove and replace the designcylinder without having to physically detach the caps and covers therebygreatly reducing the makeready time for a new run and requiring nospecial mechanical skills to accomplish the complete uncovering of thepan and cylinder. The lowering operation is easily accomplished withouthaving to detach connections to and from the ink supply or any othercomponents.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to acertain preferred embodiment which gives satisfactory results it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art after understanding the purposeof the invention that vari ous other changes and modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention and it istherefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications in theappended claims.

' What we claim is:

1. An ink fountain for a printing press having a printing cylindermounted for rotation on a shaft extending outwardly from the endsthereof, said ink fountain comprising:

a. a pan for containing ink into which said cylinder is adapted to bepartially immersed, said pan comprising:

1. a bottom underlying said cylinder,

2. front and back walls extending upwardly from said bottom andgenerally parallel to the longitudinalaxis of said cylinder on oppositesides thereof, and

3. sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom at the opposite ends ofsaid cylinder;

b. pan support means for mounting said pan for movement between an upperposition in which said cylinder is partially immersed in said ink and alower position, said pan support means supporting said pan for pivotingmove ment about an axis disposed adjacent said back wall and extendingparallel to the shaft of said cylinder;

c. a fountain cover pivotally mounted at the front wall of said pan formovement between a first position covering the upper front portion ofsaid cylinder and a second position exposing said cylinder and theinterior of said pan; and d. cam means connected to said pan and havinga first cam surface engaging and riding on the shaft of said cylinderand a second cam surface engaging and supporting said fountain coverwhen in said first position, said cam surfaces being shaped to pivotsaid fountain cover toward its second position upon movement of said pantoward its lower position. An ink fountain according to claim 1 furthercomprising: ink supply means mounted on the backwall of said pan; an inkdrain disposed at the front wall of said pan;

outer sidewalls extending upwardly from the bottom of said pan andspaced outwardly from said first mentioned sidewalls to define a wellfor receiving ink dripping from said cylinder; d. means for connectingsaid well to said drain; and e. an opening in each of thefirst-mentioned sidewalls adjacent the backwall of the pan to provide apath for ink in said fountain extending through said well and to saiddrain. An ink fountain according to claim 2 wherein: a. said pan hasupwardly sloped bottom toward the front wall to an overflow point whichdrops off into the drain running longitudinally along the bottom of saidpan whereby a constant level of ink is maintained in said pan in itsupper position and whereby all the ink in said pan is drained off intosaid drain when said pan is moved to its lower position. 4. An inkfountain according to claim 1 further comprising: a. outer sidewallsextending upwardly from the bottom of said pan and spaced outwardly fromsaid first-mentioned sidewalls to define a well for receiving inkdripping from said cylinder; b. a well cover removably fitted over eachof said wells, said well covers extending from the front wall of the pantoward the cylinder; and c. a top cap hinged to said well cover adjacentthe cylinder for pivoting movement about an axis parallel to thecylinder, I. said top cap having a first part covering the cylindershaft and a second part covering the ends of the cylinder, and

2. said cap cover having connected thereto said first and second camsurfaces.

5. An ink fountain according to claim 4 wherein said pan support meanscomprises:

a. a support arm underlying said pan and pivotally mounted for movementabout said axis;

b. a plurality of support blocks mounted on the underside of said pan;and

c. a plurality of adjusting screws supporting the blocks on said arm,said screws being adjustable to raise and lower the position of the panon said support arm to vary the depth of immersion of the cylinder inthe ink contained in said pan. An ink fountain according to claim 5further comprising: a. a backer cover pivotally mounted adjacent thebackwall of said pan for movement between a first position covering theupper back portion of said cylinder and a second position exposing saidcylinder and the interior of said pan. An ink fountain according toclaim 6 wherein: said fountain cover and said backer cover are eachprovided with a handle for manually swinging said covers away from saidcylinder to thereby expose it. An ink fountain according to claim 7further comprising: a. a backer blade supported by said backer cover insaid pan in contact with said cylinder surface for scraping said surfaceclean of excess ink. An ink fountain according to claim 8 furthercomprising: an adjustable collar for said cylinder connected to each ofsaid sidewalls so that said pan can be fitted to a variety of cylinderdiameters by varying the position of said collar.

o er

1. An ink fountain for a printing press having a printing cylindermounted for rotation on a shaft extending outwardly from the endsthereof, said ink fountain comprising: a. a pan for containing ink intowhich said cylinder is adapted to be partially immersed, said pancomprising:
 1. a bottom underlying said cylinder,
 2. front and backwalls extending upwardly from said bottom and generally parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said cylinder on opposite sides thereof, and 3.sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom at the opposite ends ofsaid cylinder; b. pan support means for mounting said pan for movementbetween an upper position in which said cylinder is partially immersedin said ink and a lower position, said pan support means supporting saidpan for pivoting movement about an axis disposed adjacent said back walland extending parallel to the shaft of said cylinder; c. a fountaincover pivotally mounted at the front wall of said pan for movementbetween a first position covering the upper front portion of saidcylinder and a second position exposing said cylinder and the interiorof said pan; and d. cam means connected to said pan and having a firstcam surface engaging and riding on the shaft of said cylinder and asecond cam surface engaging and supporting said fountain cover when insaid first position, said cam surfaces being shaped to pivot saidfountain cover toward its second position upon movement of said pantoward its lower position.
 2. front and back walls extending upwardlyfrom said bottom and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of saidcylinder on opposite sides thereof, and
 2. An ink fountain according toclaim 1 further comprising: a. ink supply means mounted on the backwallof said pan; b. an ink drain disposed at the front wall of said pan; c.outer sidewalls extending upwardly from the bottom of said pan andspaced outwardly from said first mentioned sidewalls to define a wellfor receiving ink dripping from said cylinder; d. means for connectingsaid well to said drain; and e. an opening in each of thefirst-mentioned sidewalls adjacent the backwall of the pan to provide apath for ink in said fountain extending through said well and to saiddrain.
 2. said cap cover having connected thereto said first and secondcam surfaces.
 3. An ink fountain according to claim 2 wherein: a. saidpan has upwardly sloped bottom toward the front wall to an overflowpoint which drops off into the drain running longitudinally along thebottom of said pan whereby a constant level of ink is maintained in saidpan in its upper position and whereby all the ink in said pan is drainedoff into said drain when said pan is moved to its lower position. 3.sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom at the opposite ends ofsaid cylinder; b. pan support means for mounting said pan for movementbetween an upper position in which said cylinder is partially immersedin said ink and a lower position, said pan support means supporting saidpan for pivoting movement about an axis disposed adjacent said back walland extending parallel to the shaft of said cylinder; c. a fountaincover pivotally mounted at the front wall of said pan for movementbetween a first position covering the upper front portion of saidcylinder and a second position exposing said cylinder and the interiorof said pan; and d. cam means connected to said pan and having a firstcam surface engaging and riding on the shaft of said cylinder and asecond cam surface engaging and supporting said fountain cover when insaid first position, said cam surfaces being shaped to pivot saidfountain cover toward its second position upon movement of said pantoward its lower position.
 4. An ink fountain according to claim 1further comprising: a. outer sidewalls extending upwardly from thebottom of said pan and spaced outwardly from said first-mentionedsidewalls to define a well for receiving ink dripping from saidcylinder; b. a well cover removably fitted over each of said wells, saidwell covers extending from the front wall of the pan toward thecylinder; and c. a top cap hinged to said well cover adjacent thecylinder for pivoting movement about an axis parallel to the cylinder,5. An ink fountain according to claim 4 wherein sAid pan support meanscomprises: a. a support arm underlying said pan and pivotally mountedfor movement about said axis; b. a plurality of support blocks mountedon the underside of said pan; and c. a plurality of adjusting screwssupporting the blocks on said arm, said screws being adjustable to raiseand lower the position of the pan on said support arm to vary the depthof immersion of the cylinder in the ink contained in said pan.
 6. An inkfountain according to claim 5 further comprising: a. a backer coverpivotally mounted adjacent the backwall of said pan for movement betweena first position covering the upper back portion of said cylinder and asecond position exposing said cylinder and the interior of said pan. 7.An ink fountain according to claim 6 wherein: a. said fountain cover andsaid backer cover are each provided with a handle for manually swingingsaid covers away from said cylinder to thereby expose it.
 8. An inkfountain according to claim 7 further comprising: a. a backer bladesupported by said backer cover in said pan in contact with said cylindersurface for scraping said surface clean of excess ink.
 9. An inkfountain according to claim 8 further comprising: a. an adjustablecollar for said cylinder connected to each of said sidewalls so thatsaid pan can be fitted to a variety of cylinder diameters by varying theposition of said collar.